Some Republicans are becoming annoyed with Trump's frequent trips to his Florida resort

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April 19, 2017 2:24AM (UTC)

Democrats aren't the only ones that are fed up with President Trump's frequent trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, it's starting to strike the nerves of Republicans as well.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said she was "bothered" by Trump's Mar-a-Lago visits on Tuesday, according to NBC's Frank Thorp.

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"I do wish [Trump] would spend more time in [Washington, D.C.]," Ernst said, according to Thorp's account on twitter. "That's what we have the White House for." Also adding, "I think that has been bothering not just me but some other members of our caucus."

Trump has spent 23 days at his Florida resort so far, and hasn't even been in office for 100 yet.

In just one year in office, reports predict Trump will outspend former president Barack Obama's total costs of travel for eight years. The president. of course, relentlessly bashed his predecessor on numerous occasions for hitting the golf course.

“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.” Trump tweeted on October 13, 2014. "Worse than carter." The very next day Trump tweeted, “We pay for Obama’s travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies. Then we pay for his golf."

Eric Trump defended his father's frequent golf trips in a new interview by claiming that, “You can sit with somebody in a golf cart where there might be cultural differences and language barriers and have a good time and build a friendship in a way that you could never do sitting across an office table from someone.”

However, Ernst was also critical of Trump's decision to host foreign leaders at his Mar-a-Lago resort, citing security concerns, according to The Week.

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"I think it's smart that he does business in Washington, D.C.," Ernst said. "So I've had those same concerns myself."

Republicans may be pushed to complain about Trump's recreational activity by their own constituents. During his first town hall this year, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was asked to comment on Trump's vacations and it did not end well for him.

"Does this concern you at all? Do you approve a budget for these weekly excursions," an unidentified woman asked. "If yes, how much is that? And if no, why do you have no desire to control President Trump's spending or his personal profit from that spending?"

The audience erupted.

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Flake answered: "As I mentioned, I wasn't critical of the last president or the president before that for what they do on their time off."

"That's something we'll deal with when we deal with the budget," he continued, "but I'm not going to tell the president where he can and cannot spend his weekends."

Charlie May

Charlie May is a news writer at Salon. You can find him on Twitter at @charliejmay